Careers in Communication & Photography
Careers in communication and photography require creativity and education in computer drawing, design, photography and digital art to create artistic, memorable graphic works. Visual communications involves communicating emotions and ideas through graphic images. More than simply taking pictures, visual communications must evoke an emotional response capable of capturing the attention, and sometimes the wallet, of the viewer.
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Photojournalists
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Where traditional journalists use words to tell a story, photojournalists use powerful and often poignant photographs to capture history. A photojournalism career usually involves a lot of travel, often to areas fraught with danger. Conflict, wars, tragedies and natural disasters are the workplaces of photojournalists determined to bring the human side of the story home. Good photojournalists record images that evoke powerful emotion by capturing the pathos, joy, irony, danger, fear or tension of an event that best sums up the situation. The best of these images are so memorable that people recognize them for decades.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for a career in photojournalism is expected to grow 12 percent over the next 10 years, but competition for positions will be fierce. The rising need of photojournalism to feed online news outlets will be offset by the falling cost of digital camera equipment. Photojournalists who are exposed to the most danger and travel the most distance are most likely to make top money.
Visual Illustrator
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A visual illustrator combines art and photography to create book covers, greeting cards, magazine features, movie posters, story boards, corporate brochures and catalogs, and other illustrated print projects. This career requires an extensive background in graphics art and a good eye for layout and design, as well as a high degree of creativity. The visual illustrator's job is to sell product by evoking emotion. People respond to visual stimulation, and an exciting movie poster or book cover is designed to make them want to see more, and be willing to spend money to do so.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, visual illustrator falls into the category of artists and related workers. The job outlook for a career as a salaried art professional is average, but highly competitive. The 2008 median annual wage of salaried artists was $56,330.
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Advertising Photographer
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Advertisers use photographs to capture the attention of prospective buyers and compel them to buy a product, good or service. Few or no words are used to make the point, so the image must often carry the whole story. One classic example of powerful advertising imagery is the Marlboro Man, a long-running ad for Marlboro cigarettes. No words were necessary. The iconic figure of the quintessential cowboy won the imagination of millions of people without making a pitch, selling millions of cigarettes as a result. An advertising photographer is expected to create a scene that potential buyers want to be part of in order to sell the product. The message must be clear and targeted to a specific demographic.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for a career in photography is expected to grow 12 percent over the next 10 years. This is a highly competitive position. The average salary for a salaried photographer was $29,440 as of May 2008.
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References
- Photo Credit photographer behind work image by Petr Gnuskin from Fotolia.com
